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Honda associates from throughout the U.S. on hand to mark historic milestone

TORRANCE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A 2013 Honda Accord Sedan today boarded a ship at Port Hueneme in Ventura County, Calif., bound for Seoul, South Korea, officially becoming the 1 millionth Honda vehicle exported from the U.S. The milestone comes 25 years after the first U.S.-made Honda automobile was exported overseas.

Associates from Honda operations across the U.S. gather at Port Hueneme, Calif., to celebrate the export of the company's 1 millionth vehicle from the U.S., a Honda Accord destined for Seoul, South Korea. Within two years, Honda will export more vehicles from the U.S. than it imports from Japan. (Photo: Business Wire)

All four Honda auto plants in the U.S. produce vehicles for overseas export, so Honda associates from plants in Ohio, Alabama and Indiana were joined by Honda associates from California in watching the milestone vehicle be driven onboard the ship.

The 1 millionth Honda U.S. export vehicle, a silver Accord EX-L Sedan, rolled off the assembly line in Marysville, Ohio, on Dec. 5, 2012, before being transported to Port Hueneme, Calif., for export overseas. It now embarks on a nearly 6,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean to Seoul, South Korea, where the company recently began sales of its U.S.-made vehicles.

Honda currently exports automobiles to 49 countries (Honda does not consider shipments from the U.S. to Canada as exports), with total exports expected to reach nearly 100,000 Honda and Acura vehicles from the U.S. in 2012. Within two years, Honda will export more vehicles built in its auto plants in North America than it imports from Japan.

"Honda is proud to make the phrase 'Quality for the World, Made in the U.S.A.' an important seal of approval for products made in America," said James Burrell, assistant vice president of the Export Sales division of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "Our customers throughout the world love the quality of U.S.-built Honda and Acura vehicles."

Background

Since 1987, Honda has exported more than $22 billion worth of automobiles, as well as major component parts sets from suppliers in the U.S. that are used to produce automobiles at Honda plants overseas.

Honda recently marked its 30th anniversary of producing automobiles in America, becoming the first Japanese carmaker to make automobiles in America on Nov. 1, 1982. Five years later, Honda became the first international automaker to export U.S.-made automobiles to overseas markets when it began shipping Ohio-made Accords to Taiwan in fall 1987. A year later, Honda exported its first U.S.-made Accord Coupe to Japan.

With an investment of more than $2.2 billion in its North American operations over the past two years, Honda will increase automobile production capacity in North America from the current 1.63 million to 1.92 million units per year in 2014. As a result, in the coming years, annual exports of Honda and Acura automobiles from the U.S. are expected to far surpass the company's previous single-year export record of 105,511 vehicles set in 1994.

Every Honda auto plant in North America builds cars and trucks for export to global markets, including operations in Ohio, Alabama and Indiana. Exported models include the Honda Civic, Accord, CR-V, Pilot, Odyssey, Crosstour and Ridgeline and the Acura ILX, TL, RDX and MDX. Further, many of the vehicles exported from the U.S. were designed and developed in the U.S. by Honda R&D Americas.

Honda currently exports automobiles to more than 40 countries from the U.S. through seven port facilities in five states:

Port Hueneme, Calif.

Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, Fla.

Brunswick, Ga.

Baltimore, Md.

Newark, N.J.

The one million automobiles exported from America represent a value of $19 billion since the first export to Taiwan in 1987. Further, the cumulative export of component parts sets is valued at more than $3.24 billion.

In addition to the export of automobiles and automobile parts, American Honda also exports power sports (ATVs) and power equipment products made at Honda's U.S. plants to overseas markets:

Cumulative exports of power sports products from the U.S., including ATVs now produced in Timmonsville, S.C., total more than 500,000 units, since 1980.

Cumulative exports of power equipment products from the U.S., including lawn mowers, general purpose engines, surpassed the 2 million-unit mark in 2012, since the start of power equipment production in Swepsonville, N.C., in 1984.

A complete, year-by-year history of Honda's automobile, power sports and power equipment exports can be found in the Honda Digital FactBook. To see a video about Honda's U.S. manufacturing and export efforts, please click here.

About Honda

Honda established operations in America in 1959, and now employs more than 26,000 associates in its U.S. sales, R&D and manufacturing operations with a capital investment of more than $12.5 billion.

Based on its longstanding commitment to "build products close to the customer" Honda operates 14 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda and Acura automobiles, automobile engines and transmissions, Honda all-terrain vehicles, and power equipment products such as lawn mowers, mini-tillers and general purpose engines, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

Seven Honda auto plants in the region, including four in the U.S., have the capacity to produce 1.63 million automobiles each year. In 2011, 85 percent of the Honda and Acura automobiles sold in the U.S. were produced in North America. This will increase to 1.92 million vehicles per year in 2014, when the sales percentage of locally produced automobiles is expected to rise to more than 90 percent.

Honda operates major research and development centers in the U.S. that fully design, develop and engineer many of the products Honda produces in North America.